Men Are Easy, a Book, an App, a New Year's Resolution

(You may not think this a geeky topic, but we’ve all experienced relationships, so the theme of making relationships work is pretty universal.)

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Lynn Rasmussen, the same person who helped to bring us the math apps Arithmaroo, MathGirl Number Garden, and MathGirl Addition House, has written a book called Men Are Easy. It’s not what you think. Well, it might be, but hearing the title, I expected a book that trivialized women’s relationships with men. Instead, it really gives some insightful advice that is often contrary to what you normally hear, but sounds like it would be effective, such as the idea that communication isn’t always the answer, that sometimes it hurts more than it helps.

Men Are Easy is the kind of book that you can either read cover to cover, or pick up for some quick tidbits of advice when you need inspiration. It is lighthearted and fun, but filled with information that will take a while to reflect upon. Figure out how it pertains to your individual relationship. As with any advice book, take what works for you, and leave the rest.

The advice in this book is written from a systems view of life. Lynn has a background in systems science. According to her, we have evolved to live together, so there must be a way to make it work, right? Some advice in the book seems really useful. Other advice wouldn’t work for me, but it might work for you. And while the book is written with opposite sex relationships in mind, she states that the information in the book is applicable to same sex relationships, too.

I’m not a fan of the book title, but it does catch your eye. And it is filled with some solid advice. I recommend this read to anyone who has tried common sense and found it not effective in your relationship.

Lynn has also created a new app called Men Are Easy New Year Resolutions, which uses the advice from the book to give you some ways to help your relationship right now. The idea is that you start the New Year off right by looking at your relationship rationally, and figuring out how you both tick.

The app has a section on Tips, sorted by topic. These are short bits of wisdom that you can also share with others over email or social media. You can also star the tips that are most helpful to you, and these will show up in the Favorites section.

Another part of the app contains the Resolutions. It has checklists of things to do in the New Year (or at any time) to improve your relationship with your mate and with yourself. Once you’ve completed sections of the lists, you’ll earn badges which are shown in the My Badges section. This helps you see at a glance the effort you have put into your relationship.

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